Mr Akhilesh Srivastava, Chief General Manager (IT & Operations), NHAI, has been bestowed with the Vishwakarma Award in “Public Officer” category. This event is hosted and organised by the Construction Industry Development Council (CIDC) in March every year. The CIDC is a collective set up by the planning commission.

The Vishwakarma awards are inspired by the spirit of creation and construction of Lord Vishwakarma, the ruling deity of the construction and its practices. The Annual ‘CIDC Vishwakarma Awards’ stage an emphatic platform for recognising the accomplishments of worthy individuals and organisations in the Indian Construction Industry.

Speaking of worthy individuals, Mr Akhilesh Srivastava’s name was on the list of awardees at this grant function. He was granted the “Achievement Award for Public Officer (Code-C).” His meritorious leadership in implementing crucial initiatives of the NHAI was what made him every bit worthy of the accolade.
The National Highways (NHs) of the country is on the brink of a major technological overhaul, and the Chief General Manager’s guidance has been reflected in the successful launch of various technologically advanced projects of the NHAI. The Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) system, which is now operating on the majority of the NHs in India, is paving the way for a “Digital India”. This system has aimed to eliminate the ever criticised manual toll collection method which has been the cause of traffic congestion on the highways for many years.

ETC operates via FASTags, the Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) enabled tags and allows automatic deduction of toll taxes when crossing the highways. This system has already numbered the days of manual toll collection. Under Akhilesh Srivastava’s supervision, it is expected that ETC will go through further technological upgrades in the years that follow.

‘CIDC Vishwakarma Awards’ are a felicitous representation of the innovations and scientific advancements introduced in the industry by competent individuals and their respective organizations. The Indian Construction Industry is one of the key contributors to the Indian economy; hence suggestions for technological improvements and their implementation must be encouraged.
There are ample other projects overseen by the CGM such as the Radio Asset Management system (RAMS) and Incident Management System (IMS) that are predicted to revolutionise the highway infrastructure of the country, once they reach the stage of realization. For now, Akhilesh Srivastava’s transcendent efforts have been rightly rewarded.